


Hey, are you a broom? ('cus you just swept me off of my feet)

by soobunkoo



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Academic Rivals Yeonbin, Alternate Universe - High School, Awkward Flirting, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Bad is an understatement honestly, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Flirting, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pick-Up Lines, Pining, of a sort?, this is purely self-indulgent tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25918378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soobunkoo/pseuds/soobunkoo
Summary: "Anyway, I was just passing by to remind you of our math test next week. Get ready, Choi Yeonjun, this ends here. I'll ace this test and the next one too, and then you can kiss your chance at winning this little game goodbye." Soobin leans a bit towards Yeonjun – and there's his signature smirk again, the one that makes Yeonjun's heart kick into overdrive (out of anger, of course), and he just can't help himself from saying what he does next."You just want to kiss mesooobad, don't you?" Yeonjun blurts out, and it surprisingly comes out a lot more confidently than he thought it would. Emboldened, he leans into Soobin's personal space, his gaze taunting as he waits for Soobin's response – andoh. This is so much better than he ever could've expected.Or: The five times Choi Yeonjun flirts jokingly with his arch-nemesis Choi Soobin, and the one time Choi Soobin initiates it – and actually means it.
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 67
Kudos: 564





	Hey, are you a broom? ('cus you just swept me off of my feet)

**Author's Note:**

> I've only read this over once, so apologies for any and all mistakes – I'm pretty sure I'll come back to edit this some time in the next week.  
> This is my first ever txt fic so please be gentle ;; This is also purely self-indulgent and I had a lot of fun while writing this; I hope you do while reading it, too!

**(1)**

"For someone who supposedly hates Choi Soobin, you sure do talk a lot about his perfect face, Yeonjun hyung."

"What do you mean, 'supposedly'?" asks Yeonjun, affronted. "I _do_ hate him, Taehyun-ah. Look at him, god, just the sight of him makes my blood boil."

Taehyun turns to look in the direction Yeonjun is glaring daggers at, and sees Choi Soobin laughing with his friends Beomgyu and Huening Kai three tables away. 

"He's just eating his lunch, hyung. Why are you so pissed?"

" _Just eating lunch?_ Oh Taehyun, he's a lot more devious than he's fooled you people into thinking he is. Look at that stupid smirk he's wearing on his infuriatingly perfect face. I'm sure he's boasting about the fact that he beat me in yesterday's chemistry test." Yeonjun clutches his chopsticks a bit tighter at the reminder, the memory of Choi Soobin wagging his eyebrows, smirking as he said, _"that evens the score, doesn't it?"_ after their results were revealed yesterday floating back to his mind. _What wouldn't he give to wipe that dumb smirk off of his face._

Taehyun sighs, used to Yeonjun's dramatics after two years of friendship. "Hyung, how long has this… _rivalry_ between the two of you been going on, anyway? Aren't you tired of it already?"

Yeonjun gasps, offended. " _T_ _ired?_ I won't rest until I beat him once and for all. I haven't been competing against him since the beginning of high school just to give up three years down the line! With yesterday's test we're even once again with 53 victories each. Just two more tests and I'll be able to lord this over him the entire semester. Stop deterring me from enjoying the little joys of life, Kang Taehyun."

"I'm just saying," Taehyun begins, resigned, "I've been getting closer to Kai and Beomgyu recently, and we would really like it if we didn't have to walk around eggshells when it comes to the two of you. We always have to adjust our own plans in such a way that they don't clash with our plans with you two, and it's getting kind of tiring."

"What exactly are you implying?" Yeonjun asks warily. The fact that Taehyun has recently begun fraternizing with the enemy is a bit of a sore point for him, but he obviously won't stop the younger from making more friends, just as long as—

"Well… we were wondering how you would react to the suggestion of – um, you and Choi Soobin, maybe, becoming friends as well…?" Taehyun's voice fades out gradually as he sees the look of displeasure on Yeonjun's face. 

"Oh, _hell_ no. Look, you can be friends with whoever the hell you want to be for all I care, but the _one_ thing I will never, ever do, is become “ _friends”_ with Choi Soobin. No thank you," Yeonjun finishes with a flourish of his hand, decidedly shooting down the offer. 

"Well, who said I wanted to be friends with you, anyway?" 

Yeonjun looks up — and there he is, Choi Soobin, the bane of Yeonjun's existence, who'd clearly heard what Yeonjun was saying just as he was leaving the cafeteria. 

He's wearing an irritated expression, something uncharacteristic for the generally warm and cheerful boy — somehow though, anger, irritation, and competitiveness are the only emotions he ever seems to feel around Yeonjun. The thought only serves to irk him further, and he stands up to look the other right in the eye.

At their full heights, Soobin is a few inches taller than Yeonjun, and somehow that realisation always makes him gulp, his mouth running dry, especially when they stand this close to each other. He chalks it up – as he does with most of the things he feels towards Soobin – to anger. 

"It's okay, Choi Soobin, you can admit it. Everyone wants to be friends with me, so I don't particularly blame you," Yeonjun gloats, a confident smirk plastered on his face, " _I_ _n fact,_ I bet _you're_ the one who asked Kai and Beomgyu to talk to Taehyun about us becoming friends in the first place. How cute." He coos condescendingly. 

"Must be nice living in that delusional world of yours, huh?" Soobin mutters. Not letting Yeonjun respond, he continues, "Anyway, I was just passing by to remind you of our math test next week. Get ready, Choi Yeonjun, this ends here. I'll ace this test and the next one too, and then you can kiss your chance at winning this little game goodbye." He leans a bit towards Yeonjun – and there's his signature smirk again, the one that makes Yeonjun's heart kick into overdrive (out of anger, of course), and he just can't help himself from saying what he does next. 

"You just want to kiss me _sooo_ bad, don't you?" Yeonjun blurts out, and it surprisingly comes out a lot more confidently than he thought it would. Emboldened, he leans into Soobin's personal space, his gaze taunting as he waits for Soobin's response – and _oh._ This is so much better than he ever could've expected. 

Yeonjun watches gleefully as Soobin's face immediately bursts into flames, his eyes widening as he steps back a little out of surprise. Soobin, who always, _always_ has a retort ready for Yeonjun, has been finally rendered speechless. 

Yeonjun grins. Oh, this is _glorious._

He dives once again into Soobin's vicinity, quickly kissing the air just a few inches away from his mouth, and the effects are instantaneous – Soobin starts violently this time, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste to back away. 

"Well, better luck next time," Yeonjun smiles cheekily at the other, who has gone completely red at this point, his eyes wide in shock as he holds a hand to his lips. 

Grabbing his backpack with one hand and Taehyun with the other, Yeonjun gracefully walks out of the scene, the taste of victory singing on his tongue. 

"Hyung," Taehyun tugs at his sleeve as they walk, "Did you just… _flirt_ with Choi Soobin?" 

Yeonjun, who hasn't stopped smiling ever since they left the cafeteria, giggles in response. "Damn right I did! And I finally left him speechless! Did you see his face? He was so flustered I could almost coo at him!" he boasts, his cheeks flushed as the adrenaline kicks in again at the memory of a blushing Choi Soobin. Dare he admit, for a moment there, Soobin almost looked… cute. 

_Wait,_ Yeonjun thinks. _You did not just think that Choi Soobin is cute._ He quickly shoves the thought out of his head, shuddering as he continues, "Taehyun-ah, I think I've got it. I might not be able to beat him in tests all the time, but at least I now know how to stop him from running that pretty little mouth of his. Oh, I'm going to have _so_ much fun with this information…" 

Taehyun levels a deadpan stare at the elder. "So… what you're saying is that you're going to flirt with Choi Soobin as a joke till he gets so flustered that he can't respond, and that's supposed to count as a victory?"

Yeonjun hums cheerfully in confirmation. "He always has a response ready whenever we get into arguments. Now _I_ get to have the last word, and see his adorable flustered face at the same time—" Yeonjun stops all of a sudden, surprised at what had just come out of his own mouth. "Wait. Did I just say adorable? Haha, what I meant was – hilarious. Yes, his _hilarious_ flustered face. Haha! Anyway, this is brilliant."

"...Hyung, no offense, but this is genuinely the dumbest plan I've ever heard."

"Nonsense. I'm already having so much fun, and I've barely even started!"

His mind is already running at the speed of light. _Watch out, Choi Soobin,_ Yeonjun thinks. _The game has just begun._

**(2)**

"Told you I'd win this time, didn't I?" Soobin says as he leans against Yeonjun's desk, a smile on his face which would look genial to anyone except Yeonjun, who is well aware of the nefarious intent behind it. "That makes the tally 54 to 53 in my favour, doesn't it? One more test is all I need."

Soobin had been sending him smug glances from across the room ever since the results for their math test had been declared, and not even a minute had passed since the end of class before Soobin had sauntered over to him, dimpled smile on his face. 

Yeonjun hates him. 

( _"_ _And who exactly are you trying to convince here?"_ a voice which sounds suspiciously like Taehyun pipes up in his head _, "Yourself?"_ Yeonjun ignores it and focuses on his hatred.)

"Give it up, Soobin," he scoffs. "Two weeks and I'll be back on track again, we have an English test soon and you _know_ that's one of my strong subjects."

"...Agreed," Soobin concedes. "But, if you remember our grades from last month's English test, we barely had a one mark difference. A little bit of extra effort and I'm sure I can close that gap, don't you think?"

Yeonjun wracks his brain to come up with a comeback for that, but he knows the other is right – because _of course_ he remembers all their grades, he's practically let this dumb little competition between them take over his entire life – and a one mark gap is hardly difficult for someone as intelligent as Choi Soobin to bridge. 

Running out of options, Yeonjun considers scoffing in the other's face and promptly booking it out of the room – until he suddenly remembers the stupid stunt he'd pulled a week ago and how effective the results had been. 

Now, Yeonjun isn't much of a flirt, but he _loves_ puns, and is quite fond of looking up silly pick-up lines in his free time _just_ in case _._ He hadn't really thought in case of _what_ , exactly, until this very moment – but now that the opportunity has finally presented itself, Yeonjun thanks his past self for the foresight. Not wasting a single second, he decides to go with the first nonsensical pick-up line that comes to his mind, lowering his voice in a flirty manner, exactly as he'd practiced countless times in front of his mirror when bored. 

"Are you constipated? Because you're _so_ full of shit."

The stupidity of the line makes him cringe internally but he powers through it, a shameless smirk growing on his face as he stares at Soobin, who – looks bewildered out of his mind. 

"I–Is that… supposed to be a pickup line?"

Quite frankly, Yeonjun doesn't know either. 

"It's… whatever you want it to be," he continues in the same low tone, refusing to let his smirk falter for even a single second despite knowing that he’s probably making no sense at all – and though it's really not _flirting_ in the conventional sense of the word, it still leaves Soobin struggling to respond, so Yeonjun considers it a success. 

Jumping on the chance to drive it in further while he's still at it, Yeonjun grabs his things and moves to leave. At the last second though, he leans into Soobin's ear, whispering, "Well, I'll take my leave now, Soobinnie. Dream about me tonight, yeah?" 

Backing away, he finishes it off with a wink (—or at least, an attempt at a wink. He knows he just blinked both his eyes instead of one, but it’s alright, he’s sure he still looked cute).

The results are even more satisfactory this time – not only is Soobin's face red as a tomato, but his mouth is also opening and closing like that of a fish as he tries to come up with something to say in response. 

" _Cute,_ ” the word slips out of Yeonjun’s mouth in a whisper at the sight, completely involuntarily – and well. That's the second time he's thought this about _Choi Soobin_ in the past week. Yeonjun shuts down the thought before he can make a fool out of himself, quickly singing out a little _'goodbye!'_ to Soobin, and walks out of the room as fast as his feet can take him while still maintaining the illusion of coolness. Deciding to ignore that little moment of weakness, he focuses on celebrating his second win. 

He's done it again. _God_ , he can't _wait_ to tell Taehyun about this and prove him wrong. This was the best plan ever in the _history_ of plans. 

* * *

"Taehyun-ah, I've done it again," Yeonjun says the second the younger sits down with his lunch at their usual table in the cafeteria. 

"Oh my god," Taehyun exclaims, distressed. "What did you do _this_ time? Do I have to call the police? Or the ambulance? If it's the latter then i swear to _god_ hyung, we talked about this back when you broke Lee Donghee's leg playing dodgeball during PE, I know you're strong but you've _got_ to control your strength—"

"—Wait, what?" Yeonjun interrupts, "What are you even— god no, you don't need to call the police _or_ the ambulance, it's nothing of that sort, what the fuck? Also, you know full well that I used extra force that one time, that Lee Donghee guy had been a jerk to you for _weeks._ He deserved it and I don't regret it one bit. Besides, he didn't trouble you again after that, did he? I remember him looking _terrified_ of me every time we made eye contact after that day. The poor guy was probably convinced I would _actually_ beat him up if he troubled you again." 

Both boys start giggling as they remember the hilarity of the incident, and Yeonjun smiles warmly at Taehyun when the younger shoots him a silent but grateful look. 

"Say what you will about my plans, but you can't deny that they're surprisingly effective. And speaking of surprisingly effective plans…" Yeonjun pauses for dramatic effect, and Taehyun leans forward with interest. "...I flirted with Choi Soobin again, and it worked _wonders._ I left him utterly speechless. Tongue-tied. Tripping over his words. Pretty mouth hanging open. I _told_ you it would work."

Taehyun's face immediately changes into an expression of disappointment coupled with mild judgement. "Really, hyung? You're still on about that?"

"What do you mean? _Of course_ I'm still on about that, it's hardly even been a week since I came up with the plan? This was barely the second time I even tried it."

"Honestly? I thought you'd realise how stupid you sounded that very same day.” Taehyun sighs. “It's my fault though, I should've learnt by now to not expect you to make a shred of sense when it comes to Choi Soobin."

Yeonjun gasps, offended. "You're so mean to me! And here I was telling you this to include you in my celebration of victory! So much for sharing your happiness with your friends," he grumbles.

"I'm sorry hyung, but I really don't know how else to tell you that it's _not_ going to work out in the way you expect it to. It's my duty as your best friend to advise you to stop before you reach the point of no return."

"Point of no return?" Yeonjun scoffs. "Don't talk nonsense. This is all just in good fun, it's nothing serious, you know."

"Is it, though? Think about it, hyung, is it really?"

...Yeonjun pointedly does _not_ think about it. He refuses to think about it. Has refused to think about it ever since he came up with the plan, really. It's the only reason he hasn't talked himself out of it yet. He doesn't tell Taehyun any of that, though. 

"Of course it is. Now shut up and _listen._ " Yeonjun shoves his phone in front of Taehyun's face. "I used a dumb pick-up line on him today and surprisingly enough, it worked, so while waiting for you, I searched 'condescending pickup lines' on Naver. Help me choose the good ones from these!"

It takes a few minutes of convincing and the promise of free food for Taehyun to reluctantly agree, and the two peruse multiple web pages as they eat their lunch. Unsurprisingly, their search hardly proves fruitful, each line worse than the previous one, some ranging from simply rude to downright insensitive. 

"This is useless," Yeonjun says fifteen minutes later when they've had to stop for a breather after reading the line _'I accidentally pooped in my pants, can I get into yours?'_ with their own two eyes. "Do people genuinely use these to flirt? Don’t get me wrong, I love a cute pick-up line myself, but some of these are just _vicious_. Like yeah, I'm doing this for fun, but I can't say these to Soobin. I'm not trying to genuinely hurt his feelings."

"...I know that, hyung. Which is why – and I can't _believe_ I'm saying this – but maybe we should try the next search result. Clearly nothing I say is going to make you stop, so I'd rather help you avoid making a fool out of yourself as much as I can.” Taehyun grabs the phone from Yeonjun’s hand, muttering, “God knows what dumb pick-up line it was that you tried today, anyway."

Yeonjun suddenly begins studying the table as if it's the most interesting thing he's seen in his life. 

"Hyung," Taehyun begins warily as he tries to catch the elder's gaze, "...Do I even want to know which pick-up line it was that you used today?" 

Yeonjun considers it for a moment. "...No, I don't think you do."

Taehyun sighs for the umpteenth time. "We've got a _long_ lunch break ahead of us, then."

**(3)**

"You know what hyung, you were actually right. Perhaps the plan isn't as bad as I was making it out to be," Taehyun says as Yeonjun walks him to class in a bid to delay entering his own classroom for as long as he could, given what had just transpired.

Despite the fact that he's currently drowning in embarrassment at said plan having painfully backfired at him just a few minutes ago, Yeonjun grins, overjoyed at _finally_ having gained Taehyun's approval. "Right! Isn't it brilliant?"

"No, it's still the dumbest thing you've ever come up with," Taehyun immediately shoots back, and Yeonjun's face falls once again. "But _that_ was by far the most entertaining thing I've witnessed this entire month. Both your faces were _priceless_. Beomgyu, Kai and I could hardly stop laughing, it was that funny."

"Yeah thanks, I'm well aware. Don't think I didn't see the three of you tittering out of the corner of my eyes all while doing absolutely _nothing_ to help me."

"Ah Yeonjun hyung, don't get offended… it's just that the three of us decided to let you two handle this on your own. It's better if we don't get involved. Plus, viewing it from the sidelines just makes the whole situation even more hilarious than it already is." 

To be fair, Yeonjun can't exactly blame them for finding it funny. He supposes if he, too, were witnessing the trainwreck that his plan was shaping up to be from the outside, he would be right there laughing alongside them. 

The scene in question had barely transpired ten minutes ago. It had started, as always, with Choi Yeonjun and Choi Soobin getting into a pointless fight. 

They'd gotten their results for their English tests the previous day, and thanks to him working extra hard this time, Yeonjun had managed to score two whole points higher than Soobin, making them even once again. Unfortunately though, he hadn't gotten the chance of lording it over Soobin that day. 

Today however, Yeonjun and Taehyun somehow bumped into Soobin, Beomgyu and Kai in the corridors before their first classes for the day, and Yeonjun immediately decided to make use of the opportunity. 

"Hello, Soobinnie!" he began cheerfully. "Yesterday's test results sure were great, weren't they? The teacher graded us pretty strictly this time too. So much for 'closing the gap', huh?"

"Good morning, Yeonjun!" Soobin returned, surprisingly unphased, his voice pleasant. "To be honest, I was pretty disappointed by my result yesterday. But! I did some thinking, and came to a realisation that made me feel a lot better.” His sweet smile gains a slightly challenging edge to it. “I’ve been so busy trying to best you that I forgot that we still have almost the entire academic year left, which means there’s still many, many more tests to come. That’s ample time for me to make it up to you, don’t you think? So just wait for me a little bit, 'kay? I’ll catch up to you before you even know it," Soobin smiled sweetly at him, dimples showing through as he teasingly reached up a hand to ruffle the shorter boy’s hair.

Yeonjun's brain promptly short-circuited _. Was Choi Soobin… flirting with him?_

_What the actual fuck._

Yeonjun's eyes were almost bugging out of his skull as he looked at Soobin's perfect smiling face in disbelief. _How dare he use his own tricks against him?_

Ignoring the fact that he could feel his face getting warmer by the second under Soobin's seemingly sweet gaze, Yeonjun decided to make use of the lunchtime research he'd done with Taehyun two weeks ago. No way in _hell_ would he back down from the challenge, oh no. 

"Ah, you're too sweet, Soobin-ah, of course I'll wait for you." Yeonjun smiled back at Soobin, whose left eye twitched minutely at the quick response. "Hey Soobinnie?" he continued, voice sickly sweet.

"Yes, Yeonjunnie?" Soobin tilted his head a little to the side in curiosity, and Yeonjun’s traitorous mind instantly began supplying him with the word 'CUTE' in bold letters at the sight. He valiantly suppressed the urge to shout it out loud though, immediately moving on to say the next dumb pick-up line in his arsenal, instead—

"Did you fart? Because you just blew me away." 

He immediately heard three simultaneous snorts of laughter originating somewhere from his right. Had it been any other person who’d said something _that_ humiliating to their self-proclaimed arch-nemesis, they would probably have already fled the scene, tail tucked in between their legs – but if nothing else, Yeonjun is at least stupidly brave. He stayed looking at Soobin, waiting for his reaction. He'd deal with Taehyun later. 

"...Yeonjun," Soobin began, an almost pitying expression on his face, "I hate to say this, but among all your attempts so far, this one _has_ to be the worst." The soft giggling from his right immediately escalated into full-blown laughter. 

Yeonjun wished the ground could open up and swallow him right then and there. His face heated up in humiliation, and he readied himself for Soobin to continue to mock him about it. 

Unexpectedly though, Soobin's face softened the next second, and he laughed lightly. "Since I'm a good person, though, I won't tease you about it." This time he was the one who leaned in close, bending a little bit to look the shorter in the eye as he whispered playfully, _"Better luck next time,_ _Yeonjunnie~"_

In an almost perfect recreation of the scene from two weeks ago, Soobin leaned back, winked at him and whispered a little _'see you in class!'_ before he walked away, leaving Yeonjun's heart in shambles. 

Even his stupid wink was perfect. Soobin actually knew how to blink only one eye instead of two, and he looked damn good while doing it, too. 

Yeonjun screamed a little inside his head in frustration. 

And that's basically what led him here – embarrassed as hell, while a still-intermittently-giggling Taehyun walked alongside him, doing absolutely _nothing_ to comfort him. 

" _God,_ will you stop laughing already?" He says as Taehyun snorts for the millionth time in under a minute. "It wasn't even _that_ funny."

"Oh hyung,” Taehyun wipes a tear from the corner of his eye, “It's even funnier than you think it is. If only you knew what I knew…"

Yeonjun turns to look at him sharply. "And what exactly is it that you know?"

"Ah sorry hyung, no can tell, I'm having too much fun watching you suffer." He earns a little smack upside his head for that. 

Two more smacks follow when he continues to stay mum, finally making him relent. "Alright, fine! I can't tell you everything of course, but let's just say… you and Choi Soobin are in pretty much the same boat right now."

"And what the hell does that mean?" Yeonjun asks, confused. 

"It means," Taehyun replies patiently, "that I have been doing some talking with Beomgyu and Kai, recently. Turns out, you're not the only one stupid enough to vehemently deny your true feelings and channel them into starting petty arguments, instead. You and Choi Soobin really are the perfect match."

"Perfect match?" Yeonjun scoffs. "Yeah, in mortal combat, maybe."

"Wanting to fight someone you find cute is a surprisingly normal emotional reaction, actually. There have even been studies conducted about it, it’s fascinating, really," Taehyun responds instantaneously.

"...I don't understand a single word of what you're saying."

Taehyun turns to smile cheekily at the elder as they reach his classroom. "Well… judging by what went down today? I don't think you'll have to wait too long before you do. And until that happens..." he starts backing away from Yeonjun, already knowing how the other will react to what he says next, "I shall grab the metaphorical popcorn and enjoy from the sidelines."

He quickly skips inside his classroom before Yeonjun can grab him and smack him again.

**(4)**

"Hey," Yeonjun greets Beomgyu and Kai as he and Taehyun approach the table they're sitting at, "Have you seen Soobin? He left the classroom before I could talk to him."

The two eye him warily and then turn to each other, quickly having a silent conversation through their eyes, as if debating whether to tell Yeonjun what he wanted to know or not. Weirded out by their behaviour, Yeonjun shoots a questioning glance at Taehyun, who only shrugs in response, clueless. 

Finished with their conversation, they finally turn back to look at Yeonjun, eyeing him with twin gazes of suspicion.

"Why do you want to know? Is it because you want to gloat about scoring better in last week's History test than him?" asks Kai, eyes narrowing. Yeonjun never thought he'd see the usually angelic boy looking this close to committing murder. 

"Um, that was the plan, yes...?" his voice fades out as the two gazes aimed at him grow sharper in intensity. If it were humanly possible, they'd probably be shooting laser beams at the elder through their eyes right now. 

"But!" Yeonjun blurts out quickly in an attempt to diffuse the situation, "I'm also… kinda worried about him."

The anger in their eyes gets replaced with incredulity. 

"You?" Beomgyu begins, expression dubious, "You, Choi Yeonjun, are _worried_ for Soobin hyung?" 

"Well, yes," Yeonjun responds defensively. "He left the room after class ended in such a hurry. Even throughout the class, he looked so… dejected, I was just… wondering what happened. He's never scored this low in History – or in any subject for that matter – ever." 

Kai and Beomgyu's gazes soften a bit at that, and he quickly continues now that they finally look like they're willing to give him a chance, "Look. I know I haven't been the nicest to Soobin these past three years. It's just – I like to be the best at everything, and him standing in the way of me doing that makes me lash out at him. Believe me, I'm not proud of that side of me, either. _However_ , I'm not a bad person, and I know neither is Soobin. He may be my biggest competitor, but if there's something genuinely wrong with him right now, shoving it in his face that I did better than him is the _last_ thing I'd ever do, I promise."

"What _do_ you want to do, then?" asks Beomgyu, still somewhat skeptical. 

Yeonjun considers the question. Logic dictates that he should let Choi Soobin be, knowing that his face is probably the last thing the boy wants to see right now. Something inside him, however, itches to look for the boy and comfort him, unable to sit still knowing the other is in distress – and when it comes to Choi Soobin, Yeonjun has never been good at listening to logic anyway. 

"I just want to talk to him once. I know he might not want to see me right now, and I'm not sure how much I'll be able to help – but I want to try," Yeonjun answers. 

Beomgyu and Kai look at him for a second, then turn to each other again to resume their conversation. It doesn't take long before they seem to reach a mutual consensus, both nodding their heads simultaneously in agreement. 

"Actually hyung… we believe you might be able to help more than you think," Kai begins. "It's high time you guys had a civil conversation with each other, anyway."

"Lunch break is almost over now, so your best bet is to catch him once school ends. You'll most probably find him sitting underneath that big tree in the park behind the school building. It's his favourite place to go to when he wants to be alone," says Beomgyu. 

"It'll probably take some convincing on your part to get him to start talking," Kai warns. "I suggest you take some kind of peace-offering to ease him into it. Preferably a food item."

"He _loves_ ice-cream," Beomgyu adds. "He might refuse to talk to you but he'd never refuse free ice-cream."

"Okay. After school, big tree, park, ice-cream. Noted, thanks," says Yeonjun. 

"Don't make us regret this, Yeonjun hyung," says Beomgyu cautiously. " _Please_ sort things out with him."

"I'll try my best," he promises. 

* * *

School ends, and Yeonjun finally gets the chance to fulfill that promise. 

Soobin had returned to their class after lunch break, but he'd continued to avoid Yeonjun like the plague, trying his best to not even look in his general direction, if possible. His eyes remained downcast the entire time, expression listless. For the first time in the three years since Yeonjun had known him, he looked like he wasn't paying any attention to their classes. 

Yeonjun's worry had only increased further as time passed. Determined to do whatever he could to comfort the other boy, he'd waited impatiently for the final class of the day to end. 

The second the bell rings, he packs his things and practically flies out of the classroom, making a beeline for the convenience store in front of their school building, where he buys two ice-cream bars. 

His heart is in his throat as he walks towards the park, and he considers giving up and eating both ice-cream bars himself at least ten times during the walk. He wonders for a second if he'd even find him in the park, _Beomgyu had used the phrase 'most probably' after all, he might not even be here—_

Yeonjun's thoughts immediately come to a halt, though, as he finally reaches the tree and finds, as promised, one Choi Soobin sitting underneath it, knees pulled up to his chest and pout on his lips. 

_No giving up now,_ Yeonjun thinks. He steels his nerves and softly calls out, "Soobin?"

Soobin turns to look at him — his eyes first widen in surprise, then narrow in distrust. 

"Here to boast, are you?" Soobin taunts, and for once there's nothing playful about his tone. "You've once again taken the lead. One more victory and you'll win this competition. Are you happy now?" 

He sounds – defeated. 

Yeonjun hates it. He wants Soobin to be confident like always, teasingly warning Yeonjun to not slack off because he'll surely catch up next time. 

(—If this is what victory over Soobin feels like, then Yeonjun wants no part of it.)

"...No. I'm not here to boast. And I'm not happy," Yeonjun replies. 

"So what exactly are you here for, then?"

"I'm just here to talk," Yeonjun says placatingly. "Can I sit with you?"

Soobin looks at him incredulously. "What? No. Go away. I don’t want to talk to anyone right now."

"Please? Just a small conversation. I'll be civil, I promise."

"No. There's nothing you can say or do to convince me otherwise."

"Really? Nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all."

"So you won't talk to me?"

"No."

"Not even if I told you I bought you an ice-cream bar from the convenience store?" Yeonjun smiles slightly as he holds up his hand. Soobin's eyes immediately narrow in on the packet dangling in its hold. 

"You. Bought me ice-cream." Yeonjun nods. "You, Choi Yeonjun, want to have an _allegedly_ civil conversation with me, and you also bought me ice-cream." Yeonjun nods again, even more forcefully. 

"I must be dreaming right now," Soobin finishes, gobsmacked. 

Yeonjun resists the urge to reply with something stupid like, _'oh, so you dream about eating ice-cream with me?'_

Instead, he says, "Soobin. The ice-cream's melting—" and that seems to jerk Soobin into action: he immediately grabs the packet from Yeonjun's hand, tears it open, and starts eating. Yeonjun silently thanks Beomgyu in his head for his brilliant advice.

"...Can I sit down now?" Yeonjun asks again after a few seconds of watching Soobin eat the ice-cream in the exact same way a panda eats bamboo. (For once, he lets himself admit that he finds the sight cute.)

Soobin side-eyes him, contemplating. Then, he says, "Suit yourself," and goes back to concentrating on his ice-cream. Yeonjun gratefully sits down, ripping open his own packet.

"Don't think I let you sit next to me because I want to talk to you. It's only because I felt bad refusing you when you bought me food."

Yeonjun nods, a bit disappointed. At least Soobin had let him sit next to him, though – that's already more than he'd expected. Perhaps he'd eventually be able to ease Soobin into talking, too. 

Thankfully, he doesn't have to wait for long. Clearly feeling better now that he's had his favourite treat, Soobin sighs to break the awkward silence surrounding them. "Well," he begins, "Since it really does seem like you aren't here to gloat… I suppose you're wondering why I scored so badly this time."

Yeonjun looks at him in surprise. "Well I mean— if you want to talk about it, then… yeah."

Soobin turns away from him, eyes facing the ground. "To be honest, I don't particularly _want_ to talk about it, least of all with you—" (Yeonjun tries to ignore the little pang of hurt he feels in his chest at that) "—But I think I might feel better if I get it off of my chest."

"You don't have to talk to me about it if it makes you uncomfortable," Yeonjun quickly reassures him. "But if you do, I promise not to judge or say anything mean." 

Soobin smiles a little at that. "I know, Yeonjun. We might not get along well, but I know you're not an asshole. Still, thank you for the assurance, it does make me feel more comfortable." He looks up from the ground, but still doesn't face Yeonjun. "To be honest, the whole thing is kind of stupid. It's just – I've always been slow, when it comes to learning new things, to studying, and till now I've been alright with it, moving at my own pace. But now that we've got this—" he gestures vaguely between the two of them, "—this _thing_ going on, and I'm trying my best to stay at the top all the time, it's getting a bit difficult for me to keep up."

He finally turns to look Yeonjun in the eye as he continues softly, "...I'm not naturally talented like you, after all, Yeonjun. I'm not trying to say that you don't work hard, because _of course_ you do, it's visible both in class and in your results – just that something that would probably take you two hours to learn would take me at least five. As I said, that's not ever been a problem for me before, I always work doubly hard to make up for my shortcomings – but it's been _three years_ of constantly trying to play catch up at this point, and last week I think I just realised that I needed a break, for once." He pauses here, once again turning away from Yeonjun, cheeks visibly heating up a little. "Add to that the fact that I've been— confused about my feelings, regarding _certain things_ and just. I couldn't bring myself to study hard enough. I'm really sorry for not giving it my best, this time." 

"Oh no, please don't apologise, Soobin," Yeonjun instantly responds, words heavy with guilt. " _I'm_ the one who should be saying sorry, Soobin – if I had _any_ idea that you were having a hard time, I never would've pushed you to compete with me like this in the first place. I'm really sorry I made you feel like you had to put this much pressure on yourself for something so stupid." 

"Yeonjun," Soobin begins, and Yeonjun quickly looks away, too guilty to even look him in the eye. "Yeonjun, look at me."

Yeonjun doesn't. He's too afraid – Soobin’s probably realised by now that he’s a horrible, disgustingly selfish person. He doesn't think he's ready to face the look of disappointment and disgust that's probably adorning Soobin's face right now. (— _When did Soobin's opinion of him start affecting him this much, anyway?_ )

Eventually, Soobin grabs his shoulder, forcing Yeonjun to look up at him, and surprisingly enough, his gaze is filled with an emotion Yeonjun definitely didn't expect – with _anger._

"Yeonjun," Soobin says sternly, "I don't care what you feel about me, or even about this competition – but don't you _dare_ call it _stupid_. Not when it's the one thing that motivates me to do my best at all times." The gaze Soobin fixes on Yeonjun is beseeching, burning with the intensity of his determination. Yeonjun couldn't make himself look away even if he tried to. 

"To be honest," Soobin begins again, his voice getting a bit shy, "It feels weird to admit this after so many years of trying to be better than you, but you've always inspired me, Yeonjun. The way you do everything to the best of your capabilities seemingly effortlessly made me really jealous at first. I used to wonder why I couldn't be like that, too. 

"But then I started noticing how you'd always be studying in the library every time we'd get a free period, how you'd diligently take notes in every single one of our classes – and that made me realise that no matter how effortless you made it look, there was a lot of genuine effort behind all the brilliant results you'd get – and that motivated me to work harder too. I've achieved more in these three years of high school than I ever have in my entire life – and yeah, it's been hard, but it's also been extremely rewarding. You— you make me want to do better, Choi Yeonjun. So don't you dare call this stupid. Don't you _dare._ " 

God, Soobin won't stop looking at him like that – like his gaze could pierce Yeonjun's very soul, like it could bury itself within his heart and whisper to his blood, _look at me. I want you to keep looking at me._

Yeonjun almost forgets how to breathe. 

Overwhelmed with gratitude and wonder, he finds he has absolutely no words to express what he's truly feeling. So he decides to do what he does best – he deflects. 

"That's… the nicest thing you've ever said to me, wow."

It's far from what he actually wants to say, far from, _'Soobin, you inspire me too. I wouldn't have worked half as hard as I did without you in front of me, next to me, behind me, asking me to keep up. And perhaps – perhaps this was never about getting ahead of you, anyway; perhaps I'd always just wanted to stay somewhere in your field of vision, somewhere where you could keep looking at me, too' —_ but it works, somehow, and the intense atmosphere suddenly diffuses as Soobin grins at him lopsidedly. 

"Well, that's the last time you'll hear something like that from me, anyway," he says, making both of them giggle. 

"You are so mean, Choi Soobin."

"I'm not, actually," Soobin returns. "Seriously! I'm usually a very nice person, you know? It's just— there's _something_ about you that infuriates me, that makes me behave this way."

"Me too!" Yeonjun speaks up, "I'm also a good person, usually! It's just around you that my competitive and snarky side comes out." 

"What _is_ it about us, huh?" Soobin laughs, and Yeonjun joins him – but somehow he knows if he were to think hard enough about it, he'd be able to find the answer in no time at all. There's a part of him that's started to conspiratorially whisper pieces of it in his head already. 

He consciously shuts that part of his brain down. There'll be enough time later to think about these things, anyway. For now, he stands up and brushes off his pants, offering a hand to Soobin to help him up. "It's getting late, we should get going. Let me walk you home."

Soobin grabs his hand, smirk on his face as he pulls himself up. "I don't think I need chaperoning, Choi Yeonjun. I can walk home by myself."

"I'll buy you another ice-cream on the way back."

"...You know what, I suddenly changed my mind. _Please_ walk me home, Choi Yeonjun!"

* * *

As promised, Yeonjun buys him the ice-cream and walks him home. The walk is a bit awkward, he won't lie – despite this having been practically the first proper conversation they'd ever had, it'd been pretty heavy, and both are clearly still trying to feel their way, wondering how to act around each other now. They stick to lighter topics: Soobin asks him how Yeonjun found him, and knew to bring him ice-cream, vowing to thrash Kai and Beomgyu for just giving away precious information about him without permission upon learning the answer.

All things considered though, he doesn’t look too disgruntled about it.

By the time Yeonjun finally manages to muster up enough courage to try to begin the conversation again, they've already reached Soobin's house. 

"Well, that's me," says Soobin as he lingers in front of the doorstep, playing with the straps of his backpack. "Thanks for the ice-cream, Yeonjun. And thanks for the conversation, too. It really did make me feel better... Oh, and thanks for walking me home, too!"

Yeonjun smiles softly. "You're welcome, Soobin. Glad I could help."

"A–Anyway!" Soobin blurts, his cheeks reddening a bit for some reason, "Forget about last week's test, that was a moment of weakness for me. Don't think I'll go easy on you in the future! I'm still your biggest competitor, so don't go finding new competition now." 

Yeonjun grins. _Finally,_ his Choi Soobin was back. He can't wait for the next test. 

"Hey, Soobinnie!" Yeonjun calls out just as the other is about to slip inside his house. 

"Yeah?" Soobin turns around, eyes wide as he waits for the other to continue. 

Yeonjun takes in a deep breath. It's really fucking corny, to be honest – his plan has already proved itself to be a failure, so that isn’t the reason he decides to do it – but it's practically become tradition at this point, and Yeonjun feels the meeting would be incomplete if he doesn't say it at least once—

"If you were a booger, I'd definitely pick you." 

He expects Soobin to slam the door in his face. What he gets, instead, is this – Soobin smiles at Yeonjun and it's almost _fond_ in the way it gently curls up the corners of his mouth. Shaking his head softly, Soobin says, "See you tomorrow, Yeonjun," as he gently shuts the door behind him. 

Yeonjun's heart beats in double-time. 

_What_ is _it_ _about them,_ he wonders once again. 

The answer lies just at the tip of Yeonjun's tongue, but he can't quite put it into words yet. It remains stuck to his teeth all the way back home. 

**(5)**

"Told you I'd get back on track," Soobin smirks at Yeonjun as he slides into his seat from across the table.

"Nice! I was rooting for Soobinnie hyung to stand first in your Biology test!" Huening Kai cheers from Soobin's right, and Beomgyu joins in with a "me too!" from Yeonjun's left. 

Surprisingly enough, Taehyun also pipes up, "Same here. Good job, Soobin hyung!" Yeonjun whips his head to look at him, gaze filled with betrayal as he shouts, "You're supposed to be on my side!" while the other four only laugh at him in response. 

So yeah, this was a Thing now — the five of them, and Yeonjun can't say he's too disappointed at the development, because they fit together surprisingly well: Taehyun was already close friends with Beomgyu and Kai, but he gets along swimmingly with Soobin too, both of them getting surprisingly close in just the span of two weeks. Yeonjun also grows closer to Beomgyu and Kai — he and Beomgyu already get along like they've been friends for a lifetime, and Yeonjun couldn't help but become immensely fond of Kai just a day after properly meeting him. 

Him and Soobin — well, Yeonjun wouldn't quite call them _friends_ yet, they still frequently get into silly arguments and drive the younger three mad with their antics, but their rivalry has mellowed down quite a bit, playful and teasing in a much more friendly way now. Yeonjun now finds himself looking forward to seeing Soobin everyday, fondly thinking about new ways to rile him up every morning before school. 

—And that's the problem, because when the fuck did he become _fond_ of his rival?

A few weeks back, just the sight of Soobin's face used to be enough to send him into a fit of irritation, anger simmering under his nerves. Now though— now, every time he sees Soobin he automatically feels a smile growing on his face, his heart speeding up as his brain screams at him to just _squish_ those puffy dimpled cheeks of his. His brain has also recently started replacing the words "infuriatingly perfect" and "annoyingly handsome" that he'd usually use to describe Soobin's face with "beautiful" and "cute" instead — and yeah, okay, maybe his sudden attraction isn't quite as 'sudden' as he'd like to think. 

He takes up the issue – as he does with every problem he has in his life that requires sage advice – with Kang Taehyun. 

Yeonjun brings it up the one time they're finally alone after two weeks as they walk home together. 

"Taehyun-ah," he begins. "I have something I want to confess."

They both speak up at the same time.

"What, that you're in love with Soobin hyung—?"

"I think I might have a crush on Soobin— wait, what the fuck? How did you know?!"

"Hyung, I think you and Soobin hyung are the only ones who _don't_ know. You're like, painfully obvious."

Yeonjun's brain comes to a screeching halt. 

"What, but— wait, are you sure Soobin doesn't know? God, _please_ tell me Soobin doesn't know."

"No hyung," Taehyun reassures him, "I'm pretty sure Soobin hyung doesn't know. I told you you guys were in the same boat, right?" 

Yeonjun completely misses the last part of his sentence over the relief that washes over him thanks to the first.

"Thank goodness for that, because even I'm still figuring it out myself? Like, just a few weeks ago I wanted to punch him in the face. Now I look at him and suddenly I want to shower that same face with kisses and squish his cheeks forever? It's genuinely giving me whiplash." 

Taehyun looks at him silently for a moment. Then, he begins, "Hyung, tell me honestly, did you ever _really_ want to punch Soobin hyung in the face, though? Think about it."

For once, Yeonjun actually listens to him. A minute later he silently replies, "...No, I don't think I did. Not for real." 

"There you have it. It's always been there, hyung, you've just been too obstinate to admit it." 

Yeonjun knows he's right, as always. (— _He’s been lying to himself for a long time, hasn’t he?_ )

"Soobin hyung is too nice for anyone to want to punch him in the face, anyway," Taehyun continues— and that's the thing, isn't it. 

"Yes, but…” Yeonjun says, frustration in his voice, “he was never nice like that with me. Not in the way he was nice to Hyuka and Beomgyu, and in the way he is now nice to you. Not even in the way he's nice to mere acquaintances or strangers. Sure, I picked fights with him – but he always did with me too. And I think that's part of what frustrated me and kept making me get angry at him — I think somewhere on the inside, I just wished he'd be nice to me for once as well. And that day under the tree… god, he was _so_ nice, Taehyun-ah, he said some of the sweetest things I've ever heard anyone say about me. I had no _idea_ he even thought of me like that – and I guess that's all I needed to finally let go of my denial and actually _see_ Soobin for who he is."

"You've been doing a lot of thinking, lately, haven't you?" Taehyun asks, not unkind. 

"...Yeah, I really have."

"I'm glad you've come to terms with your feelings, hyung. The constant anger and arguments weren't healthy for either of you.” Taehyun begins again after a slight pause, “What I've never understood though, hyung, is why you denied your feelings this strongly in the first place. Like, how did this whole thing even start? I don't think you've ever told me."

"No, I haven't," replies Yeonjun, a tad embarrassed, "Mostly because I'm not quite proud of the way I behaved back then. It was so petty of me, I just felt a bit ashamed telling you about the lengths of my stupidity in graphic detail."

"...Hyung, no offense, but I don't think the extent of your stupidity whenever Soobin hyung is involved even surprises me anymore." 

Taehyun earns another smack to the back of his head for that. 

"Anyway," Yeonjun clears his throat as he begins, "As I said, it's stupid. To be honest I've only come to accept this fact recently, but I’m pretty sure I developed a crush on Soobin the second I saw him on the first day of high school – at that time, though, I’d convinced myself that it was purely because he seemed nice and I wanted to be friends with him. Not knowing how to approach him first, I decided I would do my very best to get the highest score in our first test and impress him with my academic prowess.

“Long story short, when I finally approached him to drag him over to the notice-board and show him my name at the top of the list – we found his, instead. He was overjoyed, of course, but I just... felt extremely humiliated. I felt as if I'd let both him and myself down, and that made me angry and defensive. I remember glaring at him and telling him it'd be my name on the top, next time – he got defensive too, and challenged me on the spot. I accepted, and… you know how the rest of the story goes."

Taehyun remains quiet for a minute, absorbing the new information. Then he says, "So let me get this straight— or well, gay, because are you telling me that this _whole thing_ started simply because you were gay for Soobin hyung and didn't know how else to approach him but to intimidate him into liking you?" 

"Hey, it's not that I wanted to _intimidate_ him—"

"Hyung," Taehyun interrupts, "Are you saying that if a practical stranger dragged you to the notice-board right after the results for your first ever test in high school had been displayed and then proceeded to show you their name at the very top of the list, you _won't_ be intimidated?"

Yeonjun shuts his mouth. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"You know what, hyung? You were right," Taehyun admits, "I did not in fact know the true lengths to which your stupidity could go."

"Hey!" Yeonjun lightly punches Taehyun in the arm at the comment. "I know it was extremely stupid of me, okay? I'm really embarrassed by it, even today. But it's been three years since then, and I know better now. I won't make the same mistake again." Now that he finally has a chance to make amends, Yeonjun plans to do things the right way. 

"So…" Taehyun continues after a few seconds of silence, "What's the plan of action, now?"

"Um," Yeonjun begins eloquently. 

"Hyung…" Taehyun sighs. "You don't have a plan, do you?"

"Uh, I'm working on it? I think?"

"Hyung, you _have_ to tell Soobin hyung how you feel, you know that, right? Preferably, you should also tell him what started the whole thing in the first place."

Yeonjun immediately panics at the thought of admitting _that_ in front of Soobin. It's his deepest, darkest secret, and laying his soul bare in front of Soobin like that scares the hell out of him. 

"...I'll think about it," he tells Taehyun, effectively ending the discussion. 

As should be obvious by now though, he does not, in fact, think about it. 

* * *

"Soobin-ah!" Yeonjun calls out as he steps into the classroom, empty save for one Choi Soobin who sits at the very back, arranging his notes one last time before they leave school. The five of them plan to visit the arcade today, and after waiting for Soobin for five minutes, the younger three had sent Yeonjun to find the other and drag him along. 

Soobin looks up at the sound of Yeonjun's voice, and his face immediately blooms into a smile, dimples appearing as his eyes soften. 

_God,_ Yeonjun likes him so, so much. 

He walks up to Soobin's desk, supporting his elbow on it, and rests his chin on his hand. With a flirty gaze and smirk in place, he says, "Are you a piece of trash? Because as someone who cares deeply for the environment, I'm morally obligated to pick you up."

In response, Soobin places his own elbow on the desk, chin in hand — and ah, there's that signature smirk Yeonjun loves. 

"Keep going like this, Choi Yeonjun,” he says, voice low, “and one of these days you might just sweep me off of my feet," he finishes, teasingly pinching Yeonjun's cheek. 

—And if at the beginning of all this, it had been Soobin who had been too flustered to speak, now it's Yeonjun, eyes wide, mouth hanging, cheeks positively _red_. 

"Oh, how the tables turn," Soobin whispers, laughter in his voice. 

_Oh how they do, indeed._

**(+1)**

"You were right, Soobin," Yeonjun begins. 

They're sitting underneath that tree in the park where they had their first proper conversation. It's been three months since then, and during that time Soobin's favourite spot to be alone has somehow turned into Yeonjun and Soobin's favourite spot to be alone together. 

They've gotten a lot closer now, and Yeonjun can confidently call them friends (—perhaps he's even been trying to muster the nerves to call them more than that. It's a work in progress). They still have a healthy little competition going on, but now more often than not, they study together, helping the other through the problems they get stuck on. Predictably, their grades are better than ever before. 

(They fit into each other's empty spaces as if they were carved out specifically for the other to fill. Yeonjun wonders sometimes if he could've had this from the start, had he had just a bit more courage. Soobin's been trying to teach him to let bygones be bygones though, so he always lets the thought slip away. 

He doesn’t think they’d be _Yeonjun-and-Soobin_ if they didn’t constantly challenge each other to become better versions of themselves, anyway.)

"I'm always right," responds Soobin, leaning back against the trunk of the tree as he looks up at the sky through its leaves. "What about, this time though?"

Yeonjun chuckles. "You were right about you being a nice person."

"Why, thank you!" Soobin jokes, "I knew that already, of course, but it feels nice to have it mentioned, anyway. It's just a bit sad that you had that realisation so late, Choi Yeonjun."

It's nice, sitting here like this under the shade with Soobin. It makes him wonder if waiting longer to come up with a proper plan to woo Soobin is even worth it. It's always his last moment plans that have worked out the best for him, after all. 

Yeonjun makes a split-second decision. 

"Well," he says (—there's no going back now), "You were never nice to me like that. How was I supposed to know?"

In a moment of deja vu, Soobin turns to look at him with incredulity in his gaze. "Uhh Yeonjun, I don't know if you remember, but from our very first interaction, you indicated nothing but dislike for me. Like, when I told you it's actually my name at the top of the list, you honestly looked like you wanted to tackle me to the ground."

To be honest, Yeonjun still wants to tackle Soobin to the ground — it's just that the aftermath he envisions is _far_ more pleasurable, this time. 

"I— well, you're not wrong," Yeonjun begins, defensive. "I just. I don't know! As I said, there's just something about you that infuriated me to no end!" 

"Yeah well, same here!" says Soobin, and Yeonjun has no idea when they started shouting at each other. "You frustrated me too! You infuriated me too! You still do! You make me feel so many things simultaneously that sometimes I don't know what to think!" 

"I— what?" 

This conversation is _so_ not going according to plan. Not even according to the no-plan plan Yeonjun made just a few minutes ago. They haven't argued like this in months, and Yeonjun doesn't even have a clue how it devolved into this. This is a _disaster_. 

"Choi Yeonjun, are you _still_ not understanding what I'm saying? Do I have to put it into words for you?" Soobin yells, and Yeonjun nods – because yeah, he really does need Soobin to put it into words for him. 

Soobin almost growls in frustration. "Yeonjun," he begins as he looks him dead in the eyes, "I've liked you since the second I saw you – and this is a realisation I myself came to only a few weeks ago." He pauses to take a deep breath. "I've told you before how much I admired you and got inspired by you, but not the fact that I was also _infatuated_ with you. I could barely stop staring at you in class — even though at that time I didn't realise why — which is why it surprised the hell out of me when I placed first in that test, because I'd wasted entire classes just looking at your face? I'd only settled down to cram everything the night before, and I'm still convinced it was a fluke, but I was _so_ happy because I thought it'd get you to notice me. To look at me, and keep looking. 

"Instead, you glared at me like you pretty much wanted to end my life that very instant. What did you expect me to think? I thought you hated me, and that made me angry, and defensive, and petty. So I challenged you, and then you challenged me, and then it kept going and somewhere along the way I think I forgot the feelings that had started the whole thing in the first place – until that one day in the cafeteria when you jokingly flirted with me. I could barely respond because all of a sudden, all those feelings came rushing back to me – and then you kept doing it, again and again, and when I did it back it made things even _worse_ because I realised just _how much_ I enjoyed it. God, that entire week when the History test happened was so confusing, I just _couldn't_ tell whether I liked you or hated you.

"—And then, that day after I did badly in the test, you bought me ice-cream, and you listened to me talk, and then you bought me more ice-cream, and then you walked me home, and then we got closer, and though the confusion increased… the clarity did as well. It's been a few weeks since I realised this, and I just don't think I can hold it in anymore. _I like you_ , Choi Yeonjun, _like_ , in the present tense. I like you so, so much."

Yeonjun's almost about to pass out from how long he's been holding his breath. He reminds himself that he has to breathe in order to live — his brain, however, does not seem to be listening to him. 

"Yeonjun," Soobin grabs his shoulders. "Yeonjun, breathe."

He immediately gulps in a mouthful of air, as if Soobin's touch was all he needed in order to breathe again. 

Yeonjun tries to kick his brain back into functioning. "I—" he begins. Stops. Clears his throat. Tries to begin again, but chokes on his own spit. Coughs a bit. Eventually comes up with, "Wow. I— I don't even know what to say."

"Um, well," Soobin starts, uncertain, "You could begin by telling me whether you like me back or not…?"

The question makes Yeonjun laugh, his rapid heartbeat finally slowing down a bit. 

"Soobin," he says when his brain-to-mouth connection starts working again, "We've been so stupid."

Soobin looks at him, mildly offended. "Sorry?" 

"Soobin," Yeonjun breathes, relief and joy and wonder all rolled into one word. Soobin’s side of the story bolsters him into coming clean, as well. "I've liked you, too. I've liked you since the very beginning — in fact, I dragged you to the notice-board fully expecting my name at the top simply because I wanted to _impress_ you. I just wanted to shine so bright that you couldn't help but look at me."

"I couldn't, Yeonjun, I really could not. I haven't been able to look away even once," Soobin reassures him, gaze soft and filled with awe. 

Emboldened, Yeonjun continues, "Soobin. How could I not like you? It's always been you. I've never been able to look away either. Why do you think I kept our competition going this entire time? I just wanted the two of us to not lose sight of each other. Win, lose, it stopped mattering to me a few months ago. The more I got to know you, the more I realised that there's nowhere I want to be more than right next to you. Does that answer your question, Choi Soobin? Is that enough to tell you I like you?"

Soobin nods, and they both finally smile at each other, gazes relieved and affectionate. Yeonjun brushes his right hand against Soobin's left, and Soobin turns it over to intertwine their fingers together. They sit like that in silence for a while, just enjoying each others' company — until Yeonjun starts feeling a bit antsy. 

"Um… so, what now?" he ventures, chuckling nervously. He'd been perfectly fine a second ago, _what's wrong with him?_

"Well," begins Soobin, taking in a breath. He tightens his hold on Yeonjun's hand. "There's only one way to go from here."

Yeonjun continues to look at Soobin, clueless. "And that is...?" 

Soobin just stares at him for a second. Then, he sighs. "God, Taehyun was right. You _are_ stupid when it comes to me."

"Hey!!" Yeonjun can't believe his best friend has been talking to his crush about him behind his back. He can't wait to get his hands on Taehyun. This time he doesn't plan to let him leave before breaking at least two of his bones. 

"You should be thanking him instead of planning his murder. I talked to him yesterday, and he told me to tell you what I feel in clear words because you would never have the courage to do it first, and he was right. And now I'll have to ask the question that comes next, too!"

"W—What question?" Yeonjun asks, having no mental capacity to come up with anything else at the moment. 

" _God,_ you're so dumb. Here, let me do this in a language you'll understand."

Soobin leans back against the tree-trunk, pops up one knee and rests his elbow on it in an attempt to look suave. He just ends up looking hopelessly endearing, but Yeonjun can't even bring himself to laugh at the moment. His breath gets stuck in his throat, as Soobin grabs his own shirt, shaking it a few times to draw Yeonjun's attention to it. 

"Hey, you know what this shirt is made out of?" He winks at Yeonjun, teasingly leaning in to whisper, "Boyfriend material."

Yeonjun immediately lets go of the breath he was holding. _Now_ he gets it. "...Is this your way of asking me to be your boyfriend?" he begins, barely able to hold in his laughter.

"Well… is it working?" Soobin asks, voice hopeful. 

Yeonjun likes this idiot an unbearable amount. 

"Taehyun _was_ right. We are so dumb." He _finally_ tackles Soobin to the ground, and kisses him. 

...It's a moment three years in the making. 

("Hey, are you a broom?" begins Soobin once they separate. "'Cus you just swept me off of my feet."

Yeonjun shuts him up by kissing him again.)

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> "condescending pick-up lines" was an actual google search I did for this and I have been irrevocably scarred 0/10 would recommend  
> Anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading! Constructive criticism is always welcome, so please leave a comment down below <3
> 
> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/soobunkoo) or [cc](https://curiouscat.me/soobunkoo) if you want to scream about btxt with me!


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